Dream of Eternity
by RickaZcurser
Summary: "when you see the dream of eternity, do you see me in them?" Denmark is a knight waiting for his prince, but his prince won't wake up and he's reaching his limit. DenCan Halloween special.
1. Welcome

Disclaimer: Hetalia doesn't belong to me. I would say something about Canada being a delicious slut, but everyone already treats him as the fandom bicycle so my point would be moot XD

Warnings: AU, implied character death, some obscure themes (it's Halloween)

**Dream of eternity**

_A Denmark / Canada Halloween Special _

_Part 1_

"The reunion was wonderful, have a good evening and thank you again for the invitation," says blond haired man with a small smile -amiss on his normally stern face- shaking the hand of another male. Both of them were all clean lines, broad shoulders and strong jaws: pure masculinity in proper suits. Perhaps their only difference would be on their hair: different shades of blond and arrangement, while the one who spoke was neatly arranged the other was a shake away from being a perfect mess.

"You are welcome. I am glad you were able to come at all, I've heard your brother hasn't been doing well," the other answered lightly with a rakish grin and patted the blond on his shoulder emphatically "My best wished on his recovery Ludwig."

Ludwig nodded "I will let him know, but it will be your fault if he flips a table, drinks all the beer and throws a tantrum," he adds thoughtfully. His business partner just laughs "He already does that even if I am not in the room."

The German man bites a smile "well I should go now. Have a good evening Matthias."

Matthias -because his true name had been forgotten some time down the road and this was the most direct pronunciation he could get- just nods, waving as Ludwig enters the car and drives away. Only when he is certain the German is out of his villa, does he turn around and goes back inside his home closing the door behind him.

No one could say for sure if he was Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, but he had a decidedly Nordic air around him. All his moves screamed of elegance, and raw power held in control by a tint of etiquette that only made him more and more coveted at the eyes of the few ladies (and men) who had seen him.

As he ventures farther inside he drops the jacket on a chair and loosens his tie. He sneaks a look at the clock and decides the dishes can wait until morning, it is almost midnight and he wants to pass the height of Halloween doing something more appealing than washing dishes. He strolls down the carpeted aisle with the ease of someone who had amassed a tasteful fortune through hard work and time, and with enough charisma to silence any of his eccentricities:

Build a villa on the land away from cities? Normal for a conservative and wealthy man  
>Build the villa with a genuine castle fort, corridor and tower? A castle enthusiast? No one batted an eye when he directed the architects on how to construct it on pure rock alone - not even when he himself chose the rocks and their shapes.<p>

Not many had been invited to the villa -just some of his most trusted coworkers and contacts- and none of them were welcomed into the castle part of it. Rumor said that he had an armory over there, others said there were some Danish regalia being kept there and highly guarded. Both were right but also wrong at the same time: yes there was an armory on one of the rooms of the tower, and there were some Danish regalia being guarded in there as well -it was no secret that this man had a connection with at least the Danish monarchy- but the reason of the tower and the fort was to guard a much more important treasure.

He stopped before the immovable wooden door that leads to the castle corridor. It was always closed, and it would only open for the lord of the house. Some said he had it secured with the latest security system, some fancied that somewhere in the house there was a room full of super computers and technological gadgets only seen in conspiracies movies.

Once again they were not too far off. There was a security mechanism that would only allow the owner of the villa inside that corridor, just that instead of latest technology being behind it...

... it was ancient magic.

The blond haired man looks at the door and places a gloved hand -his hands are always in leather gloves, one of his many, many eccentricities that people have passed down as quirks throughout time- before knocking on it, once, twice and then the door glows. He isn't phased by that, he just writes with his fingers the familiar runes that form the spell: Thurisaz, Isa, Fehu, Uruz, Kenaz, all of them around Ansuz the rune designating Odin the leader of the gods.

When he writes the last one, the door glows red, then blue before it opens without a sound. He can see how the torches light up automatically, as if the room was happy to see him again and welcomes him with flourish, and feels the door close behind him with a faint tint of what he wishes is possessiveness.

_If you can't join me, please let me join you_

He walks down the corridor, the stonewalls keeping the heat inside, protecting him from the cold of a late October breeze. He climbs the stairs silently, the cracking of the fire and the random armor against a wall as his only company. The raucous smile gets smaller and smaller as he nears the end of the stairs. By the time he arrives at the uppermost room of the tower all mischief and tint of arrogance has been replaced by solemnity.

He runs his fingers along the crest - a simple yet breathtaking symbol: powerful and regal in its simplicity, a crest that not even the most seasoned historians could decipher or recognize its origins but they would all agree if it belonging to a royal house- engraved on the door in contempt. Sighing he pushes the door open and enters into the round, tastefully furnished room.

The room has a high pointed ceiling, heavy drapes - all of them with the same crest sewed into them shining and proud- between the eight wide and tall vitrals - a masterpiece of cold artfully twisted iron and clear glass. There are eight desks in the room as well, each of them against a drape and having an oddly shaped bowl full of miscellaneous objects - herbs, scented powder, gold, quartz, among others- on them. In the middle of the room is a great spider chandelier which hangs right upon an altar and the person sleeping on it: a stunning combination of milk and honey, all bundled up in blue robes.

Matthias doesn't pay attention to the sleeping man, and opens the drawer of the desk nearest to him. He finds a lighter and a hairbrush. He takes off his gloves, revealing burns on them, and lights the spider lamp, its light a glow compared to the blazing of the full moon shining upon them.

Once done, he washes his hands, grabs the hairbrush and kneels before the prone figure on the altar in the middle of the room. Matthias takes one hand, kisses the ring finger lightly and places it on his forehead. "My Liege."

The room stills and memories break free.

-0-0-0-

"Oh the princess wants to practice huh?" It was just a normal occurrence. Nothing new, just some boys taunting a prince. Well not just any prince, The Youngest Prince of their kingdom. No one bated and eye about the abuse, even if in other circumstances it would have resulted in dire punishment, for this youngest prince had been born a seer. A gift that until then was believed to be a sign of womanhood. It was dishonorable to a man: a seer could never touch a weapon or else their gift would fade away, it was a too precious and rare gift in a kingdom to lose it, but a man who could never being the heat of the battle, could never touch a weapon and be a warrior - it was shameful.

One of the children taunting the prince was Matthias himself, an apprentice to a warrior who had move with his family from south. He did not understand fully what the taunting was about, but he was still immature enough to follow the majority who was doing it to the little kid who wanted to learn how to fight.

Their first meeting would have been a complete disaster had the knight apprentice not had a plan. Seer or not the whiny brat was a prince. He owed the other a chance - and if he got to beat him a little... that would be a bonus for his good deeds right?

He waited until the group left, and making sure no one saw them, he took the prince by the wrist and tugged him away. The blond haired kid was too disoriented to put a fight.

"Keep quiet. Here"

"A stick?" the kid stared at him in disbelief, violet eyes going from the wooden stick (more like a cut off branch than anything else really) to him.  
>"You seem more or a sword and bow kind of man." He shrugged taking his old sword.<p>

"But a stick?" he whined, Matthias felt a headache coming. _'You will be able to hit him' _he repeated on his mind _'you will be able to hit him' _he chanted. He needed patience with this brat, but he wasn't sure he could have it. Especially when his royalty was starting to be a royal pain.

"I may be teaching you how to fight but I am not going to break a rule and give a weapon to a seer," he explained himself sternly. Did the brat not understand?

"Even if I command you to?" the other spat throwing the stick away petulantly.

"Yes brat." the southerner answered brusquely, taking the prince by surprise "You seem to be forgetting your duties. We serve and protect you, but you live to guide us and bring both glory and prosperity. Sacrificing your flesh, bones and soul if necessary." he explained, cyan eyes boring into widening mauve "That, is your duty as a prince," he continues, none of them realizing how their bodies grow nearer and nearer "Being blessed with the rare gift of the sight has given you a greater tool to perform them, and so you should not disdain such a gift lightly just because of your insecurities and woes. Brat?" Matthias steps away alarmed, before him the prince is smiling, even with wet eyes. Before he can do anything, the Prince turns around -making the knight panic for a second- and reaches for the stick he had thrown away.

"Thank you," he says once he is back, those mauve eyes dry and shining with determination. "I had forgotten about my priorities. Will you teach me master knight? I'm sorry for the temper earlier, I promise to be in check from now on."

Matthias' shock lasts a lifetime and half (the younger prince just called him "master" what had he done to deserve something like that?), but when he takes a grip of himself he smiles, perhaps a bit sadistically. "Alright brat, but don't do this half heartily I will know."

-0-0-0-

_'After that'_ Matthias remembers _'you changed, you grew wiser by the day, got interested in scripts and took your duties seriously. You came to training and never cried again.' _the knight opens his eyes holding that hand tight. The prince had not awakened - not that he expected him to, his prince needed more than just a shake to wake up.

Taking the hairbrush he unties the short braid and starts to brush the other's hair. "You changed your ways," he starts on an conversational tone, as if the person sleeping on the altar could hear him, "you were more like a man and didn't cry again until that time..." he amends his eyes sorrowful.

-0-0-0-

They must have been into their second summer of training when, one day, the prince arrived with a sullen face and red - still moist- eyes. By then some sort of companionship had grown between the two, and Matthias was honestly worried. That didn't seem like a bratty outburst, and his mind was not on their training (he didn't even realize he had given the other his old almost broken stick). The knight apprentice had never really thought about what would be like to be a seer until that September afternoon.

He had called out the training, and both of them were resting on a rock still warm from the dwindling sun. The silence was broken by his soft voice startling the future knight "It is horrible to see the future but not being able to change it."

"Brat?" it was the first time since their meeting that he talked about his gift related things. Matthias didn't know what to make out of that.

"I sometimes dream of deaths, but I cannot change them." the wavy haired blond continued, not paying attention to his surroundings.

'_Was someone going to die soon?'_ "We die, there is nothing you can do about it" the knight answered nonchalantly. Yes death was hard, but glorious, one shouldn't be mourning about it. They stood silent for a while, watching the leaves fall softly.

"May I leave?"

Matthias let him, there was no way they could have a breakthrough that afternoon. The prince left quickly, mumbling some thanks and disappeared among the fallen leaves. Sometimes he found it suspicious how easily the youngest royal could scurry away and blend into the background without anyone noticing, but he was relieved, if anyone found out what they were doing...

"Stop getting ahead of your time Matthias, tomorrow will be another day," he scolded himself; maybe tomorrow he would find why the brat was so sad.

He did.

The next morning the Queen was found death by a miscarriage, induced by poison of the neighbouring Kingdom. That meant war. The army waited some weeks and prepared accordingly, the prince quipping some advice here and there.

The night before parting, the prince scurried into his room, bringing a round gold plate with him. "Use it on the right side of your chest," was the only thing he said, pushing the golden piece into his hands "Always," and with a small smile he left. No goodbyes or well wishes.

-0-0-0-

"You saved my life that night" he confesses to the quiet of the room, hoping that maybe, just maybe his prince would wake up now. He still has the golden plate; it had protected him from numerous battles, even before he realized his heart was on the right side and not the left.

The prince did not wake up. The immortal sighed in frustration. It seemed that he had to do the magic spell after all.

He disentangled he hair and braided it with care before returning the hairbrush to the drawer and takes the lighter again. He approaches the next desk murmuring lowly an incantation in a language long forgotten.

(The incantation was just so familiar now; he didn't need the paper anymore)


	2. Back

Hi! Did you miss me? :3 Anyway second part up. My lovely beta is doing an awesome job so thank you a lot Dragonflamecrystal!

Also, I forgot to post this on the last chapter but, for information about runes you can go here: http: / / www. sunnyway. Com / runes / meanings. html

Please enjoy!

**Dream of eternity**

_A Denmark / Canada Halloween Special _

_Part 2_

Matthias approached the bowl with herbs, macerated them while repeating the words over and over again before lighting them on fire.

_Fire that lights the way and keeps warm the heart of festivals_

-0-0-0-

He didn't see the other for three summers the campaign lasted. The siege was successful and the kingdom expanded bringing more wealth to them and a warning to their enemies. The welcome fest was nothing he had ever seen before. The Hall was richly furnished; tables were filled to the brim with a never ending feast so delicious that they couldn't stop eating even if their stomachs already felt full. Rum and wine and alcohol was never missing from a cup and when the wind threatened to sneak inside the doors were closed keeping the festivities intact.

Minstrels were retelling epic feats of before their kingdom rose, and once they were finished, their king stood up and thanked them. The generals kneeled before him, kissing the rings on his fingers in gratitude that was reciprocated.

All in all it had a sense of grandeur that left the knight -still recovering from some wounds- amazed. When the initial shock passed he started to notice the king was sitting by his lonesome, and instead of a chair for the queen there were two, one on each side him both occupied by the princes: one clad in pure blue, the other in pure white.

The blond with the blue robes laughed gregariously, passing the ham down some warriors and cracking what he supposed were jokes, the men around him laughing heartily. The other blond, with longer hair talked calmly in amused hushes with his father, answered some questions from the generals and stood up to probably retrieve a jug of wine.

It was the first time he saw the interactions of the royal family up close. It wasn't as weird as he thought they would be. He did a double take when the prince approached him with the jug of wine. This prince had violet eyes -the sign of a seer- and had it not been for that trait he would have never guessed who he was: he had changed so much, grown taller, slender, his skin paler and... His hair was now long, below the shoulder.

"Thank you so much for coming back to us, bringing glory with you" his voice was still soft, but sure. He kept doing his royal duties as the prince with confidence, and for once the knights did not mock his antics - none of them did, those that were in the fight and heeded his advice, and those whose life it had saved knew better now. But it was still a little strange for them to talk with such indifference - as if they had never seen each other at all.

Which was true. It _had _to be true; else they would get in trouble.

He kissed the prince ring finger that was being offered to him - it had a delicate ring, with a pale violet stone on it. He tried hard not to frown, what was all of this feminine demeanor? It didn't sit well with the knight, "Thank you for the advices left." He answered courtly letting the hand go.

The long haired blond nodded "are you the one they call Matthias? I've heard stories about you,"

He had the decency to blush. His actions on the war were by no means epic feats (he had just taken the kingdom's mage out of the way and made way for the other's to imprison the king) but during the journey back the stories had taken a bit of a fantastical turn and now they said he had fought-

"He fought a three headed dragon with just his hands" interrupted a slightly inhabited minstrel. "I can relay it to your highness if you please!" The king nodded and with a jubilant call he started.

It was an epic tale that left Matthias himself wanting to emulate such a hero.

Once dawn started to peek from the horizon did the festivities end. Only then Matthias had a brief chance to talk with the prince without any suspicion  
>"Please do not tire yourself prince." He murmured passing by, he wanted to tell him so much more, but now wasn't the time. Maybe when they started their lessons again he could thank him properly, but for now that was it.<p>

"I won't, thank you for your concern."

-0-0-0-

"But you didn't, did you my liege?" he complained bitterly watching the other from the corner of his eye. But there is no time to mourn in solitude yet, he has to continue the spell go to the next desk, prepare the ingredients set them of fire, let the room, and the magic of the night and the moon mix the scent and create the door necessary to wake him up.

And so he does, with the impatience of a lover reaching his limit, but steady. He cannot muck this up, magic is a fickle thing - that he had learned over the centuries- and if he botches something up, he may end up killing them both. As he waits for the third ingredient to be ready -boiling water with a very specific flower and a purple gemstone inside- he can't help but remember when things started to go wrong. 

-0-0-0-

"I will never be king," the prince complained one day, long hair on a braid that now reached his middle back. The master knight knew better than to remark anything about the other's appearance. It was a sore spot with the prince. "It is as if they are trying to forget I'm a man!" he had complained once a few months after they got back into routine "The herbal baths are great but, I'm not a woman! I hate my appearance so much right now." Practice had been cut short that afternoon, they ended up discussing about sacrifices and different ways one could still be a man and manly with long braided hair.

This was a new topic however, and Matthias wasn't sure if he wanted to tread in there or not. Though knowing the prince as well as he did now - they were _friends_, once someone saves your life they immediately become friends in their book- he wouldn't have any other option but be some sort of voice of reason. The life of a royal was very complicated.

"You are a seer, you could lead an army - but you could never fight along them," Matthias said frankly, without any softness. He spoke with the nonchalance of one who knew a practical truth, even if he felt a bit sympathetic for his friend.

"But I wanted to-!"

"You can help your kingdom by helping your brother and counseling him," he cut swiftly, even if he himself was dubious of his advice. The older prince was a bit of an attitude case sometimes.

"My brother is too stubborn for that, he would only listen to me when it's too late and the Kingdom is on ashes" the prince mumbled moodily, but the knight (already used to his soft voice) heard him perfectly. He paled, his prince never lied about possibilities... and the possibilities he was mumbling were not great. Did he see it on his dreams? The fall of it? But they were doing so well - Was that why he was getting more tired every day? "Hold On! Is the kingdom-?"

He stood up with regal elegance, and patted him on the shoulder, mauve eyes smoldering on the spot. "It is the duty of royalty to make their kingdom prosper, but if it falls, it is the duty of the royalty to save their people." his voice was hard brow creased his hand was heavy on his shoulder as the words he just uttered "Rest assured it is safe for now, but if our kingdom does fall I will save you."

He should have found that conversation fishy, but he dismissed it as his friend being dramatic.

He shouldn't have. 

-0-0-0-

The familiar scent of sandalwood wakes him up from his reverie, he doesn't need to look down to see the water is now the color of a stark purple. He rolls up his sleeves over his elbows and approaches the next bowl. The scented powder inside is white, and fine, practice has helped him mould the spelling circle with the perfection of someone familiar with it.

That's the only spell circle he can make.

Once he is done he shakes his hand free of the powder on the bowl and lit what remains on fire. Immediately the room is invaded with a powerful scent, but he is too absorber on the little flakes of dust that still fall on the burning bowl.

_'Just like snow.' _

-0-0-0-

"I like snow. It is the only thing that kills that I'm allowed to touch without losing the sight." his friend blurts one snowy day. The master knight, already used to his random outbursts, knows better than to pursue the information. But this time he can't just smile and nod.

It's the first time they are together officially without having to hide, they are on a scouting travel, looking for some kind of castle that was said to augment the power of a seer - or that all seers had to sleep a night there as a rite of passage, he wasn't sure on the reason to be honest. But the thing was they were placed together on the quest (and escort missing, him escorting the prince), and they were alone.

They were milking their adventurous time together for all it was worth.

His friend had seemed livelier now, than how he was been lately. He was practically giddy when they rode through the snow and bathed on a cold river and camped under a tree near a fire. Matthias was really close on pulling a prank on him. Just to see his face.

But returning to the topic at hand, "There are other murderous things that you are allowed to touch" he quipped amicably. His friend only raised an eyebrow "Lava for example-"

"I can't touch lava!"

"Really?" he stopped his hose eyeing the other curiously "even with whatever magic you all have?"  
>The braided man snorted impolitely "Our magic, as you put it, only affects the realm of dreams."<p>

"So no walking on lava or anything?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but you won't see me summoning a dragon with three heads," he mocked circling him. The knight couldn't help but notice they were under a tree, if he just shook it a bit then...

"Then why snow?" he inquired, his friend looked away, grabbing the handles a bit tight on a clear sign of embarrassment

"Because it is white, and it disappears on my fingers," he mumbled.

"You don't make any sense," he concluded truthfully, "white and melts," "really, was that the reason?"

"Say the knight that trained a see- COLD! Matthias!" he howled in outrage and indignation shaking the snow out of his garments and horse. The named was howling with laughter sprinting away to escape his friend's wrath. In that way they passed the days until they found the castle.

In the end, the so called "castle" was actually a cave just under a valley between the ginormous roots of some trees. It didn't mean it was less majestic than a castle, but it was just a cave - even if his friend glared at him nastily when he made the remark. Matthias just stood outside while letting his dear friend do all the weird magical work. Only when he was sure that stepping inside wouldn't damage some ritual of sorts did he enter.

The ritual passed silently, he created a fire, lead the horses inside so they could sleep in a warm place away from the falling snow. They slept on the cave that night. His Highness' head on his lap, the knight's cape shielding them from the cold.

His friend had a troubled sleep that night. He thought of it as a nightmare and accommodated the cape again.

He should have done more than that.

-0-0-0-

"You don't know how much I wanted to pass my hand through your hair like this," he breathes on the other's cheek, tucking a curl of hair away, his other hand brushing soft golden hair lightly before caressing the royal's neck -pale just like the rest of him, had it been warm with life he wouldn't have hesitated on kissing a mark against it. "Now I only want you awake," he orders instead, leaving ingredient number five on his love's right hand.


	3. Prince

Hi. This is the last part of "Dream of Eternity" warnings still apply, and there is a Hint of NorSve if you squint really hard.

Please read, and enjoy.

Hetalia still not mine and all that jazz.

**Dream of eternity**

_A Denmark / Canada Halloween Special _

_Part 3_

_'It is funny,_' the knight muses, '_how so long ago, doing such things between men was frowned, and now in this country they could do it in plain sight without anyone bothering to look twice.'_ Times always got better, slowly but they did. Perhaps he wouldn't have had a hard time realizing his feelings (he would have realized them sooner, when he- _they_ still had time) if they had lived in this era.

Then again thinking of having to wait another millennia. It wasn't all that appealing. However, budding feelings or not, he had other things to worry about.

-0-0-0-  
>Something had changed since that night at the cave. Matthias may not have been an intellectual, but he wasn't so obtuse as to not realize it. It did not mean he knew what it was, but he hated it. His heart bat uncomfortably when someone mentioned the prince, and he seemed to notice more and more trivial things about his friend, like the color of his hair under the sun, or how his eyes got this bright shine when thinking about mischief.<p>

All of it was driving him crazy. What exactly was happening to him? He was becoming awkward around his friend! Maybe he had massed some of the ritual and was suffering some side effects?

He went to the healer house to ask for advice, he have never meant to eavesdrop.  
>The prince has been having unsettling dreams lately." Oh there went his heart again. Whatever it was he had it ba- wait what was it about his friend?<p>

"Ever since the engagement." Oh yes the engagement. The older prince was to marry a princess from a neighboring Kingdom. A scary little thing, he would have chosen her sister with the amazing rack personally. They were doing an alliance, and it still didn't sit too well with some people, some said that kingdom wasn't trustworthy.

"Nonsense. If he knows it would bring misfortune, the King would have cancelled them already." Oh he recognized that voice! What was the general of the royal guard there?

Curiosity had been one of the evils of his childhood he could not erase.

"Excuse me Healer, are you in there- Oh good evening sir" he barged into the room, pretending he had just arrived and had not eavesdropped anything. The healer, A woman with brown hair and a fierce spirit just sighed. "what did you do this time Matthias?"

" Just a hurt shoulder nothing more" he shrugged trying not to wince, but the woman caught it immediately "did you hurt it at practice?" no need to lie, the knight nodded. He had hurt his shoulder in practice -the reason why he hurt his shoulder however, that was something he had to lie about.

"You are Matthias" interrupted an old man, wearing white robes -what was one of the King's advisor's doing here as well?- "you were the prince escort some time ago, weren't you?"

"Yes sir, I was. I escorted him to that castle" the old man frowned, and eyed him critically before looking everywhere -as if making sure no one would hear them.

"did anything extraordinary happen in the ritual?" he asked.

"No. He did everything correctly. But I think he had a nightmare. Is that normal?" he inquired, curious as well.

He did not find anything else. They were too tight lipped on it. But something told him nightmares weren't common in a seer at all. Just what was happening to his friend to be like that? 

-0-0-0-

Unlike those times though, he now sleeps peacefully, not changing or twisting his position for over nice centuries. Part of him was always scared about him waking up though. What if he woke up just to die because he had slept for too long? What if, when he wakes up, he will get just a boneless carcass because those were already eaten by the monsters on the other side?

His fears were not unfounded, for there _were_ monster that inhabited on the other side, Matthias feels his stomach twist every time he thinks of the night everything he knew changed forever.

(he almost breaks ingredient number six)

-0-0-0-

"Are there monsters inside dreams?" he had asked his beloved friend one afternoon not long after he overheard the discussion. He had never expected the frank answer.

"Yes. My magic is not strong enough to fight them." was the easy acceptance, almost resigned with an air of _'I though you would never get it' _

"Why? How?"

He sighs before answering matter-of-factly, amused that the changing of tables "We see the future and bring that knowledge back with us, there are forces against that you know? Mages who protect their kingdom with spells, malevolent beings who like to toy with us humans... The realm of dreams is pretty dangerous to us who can interact with them"

"So that day those years ago..?" everything clicked in the mind of the knight right then. Everything made horrifying sense, why he was hateful of his gift when he was a child, why he always wanted to know how to fight, why he could blend and scurry away without being noticed so easily...

"You saved me" the royal says firmly, mauve eyes sincere as he takes the knight's hand and pushes it through his clothes until it rests against his skin.

"Y- Your highness?" the candidate for grand master knight widened his eyes in disbelief. Not so much for having his hand under the prince clothes and touching his chest but more from what he felt- or rather _didn't_ feel - against his hand: The prince ribs weren't complete "Who?" he asked unreasonable rage bubbling on the pit of his stomach. He was going to be sick.

The royal shook his head "I was attacked by a monster and he chew on some of my ribs. I was lucky to wake up from the pain. alive. There was no wound or scar, but the ribs were gone" he continued with an even calm voice, smiling affably at the knight's horror stricken face and takes the hand out, still holding it between his two much slender ones.

The knight couldn't breathe. The gift of the sight was a wonderful tool that came at a terrible price. How terrified and desperate must have he been to actually beg that day? How horrifying must it be to never feel safe, not even when you sleep, forever? To know that you will die when your mind wouldn't be strong enough to fight them anymore and get eaten? Matthias had felt pride when he had straightened and inspired the young prince to keep his duties many years ago, but now guilt clogged his throat and kicked his gut. Just what had he done?

"Thank you Matthias" the prince interrupts his frantic thoughts and kisses the knight's ring finger on an act that seems so wrong the other feels his mind halt in panic "I've always wanted to say that"

He shakes his head feeling his face redden. There was something in the gesture that made his head spiral a final time and his heart beat uncomfortably faster. He had not earned gratitude, nor was he worth deserving it. The warm but weird parade of antagonizing feelings that drove him crazy abruptly stopped when he noticed the dark circles around the prince eyes.

Cyan eyes hardened with a new resolve "there is nothing to be thankful for, my prince. I will always protect you, awake and when you sleep. I will protect you" he swears kissing the other's ring finger, never breaking eye contact. The shorter male seems to understand it after a few minutes _this isn't just and oath from a knight to his king, this is an oath from me to you_ "my liege, you don't look so well. Have you encountered another obstacle?"

Mauve eyes glisten but they take their stead "The monsters have become stronger I'm afraid. That's why I need you to train me more"

-0-0-0-

Well he hadn't made good of his promise now, had he? The proof was just sleeping there on the altar. Matthias leans again listening to his love's heartbeats. _'He is alive for now'_ he assures himself. "You should wake up, love" he whispers "The world has changed so much since you went to sleep, there are so many things, so many places I want to show you." he prompts - tempts (and his eyes were not watering damnit, it was just the heat and smoke that make them burn and blur a little).

There are lots of things he wants to show him, things they could touch, things they could feel, things that are real and not just ghost of dreams. But if he wants them to experience it, he must continue, the spell is almost done, and a full moon on Halloween helps more than what he imagines.

_when you see the dream of eternity, do you see me in them?_

He was no mage, he was a knight a conqueror supreme and a warlord who had merely forced the hand of a true mage to make them immortal. His spells were not as lavished toppled with ancient syllables and magic twined in them. They were basic, but they had to be enough. Open the gate where reality and dream mesh up, order the prince to wake up. It wasn't as difficult as it sounded.

then why hadn't he woken up?

He placed the sheath - just the sheath, no sword, awakening him rudely would only make the matters worse- on the prince's other hand. Making the connection between the world of dreams and reality complete.

_do you remember this? do you remember me, or has that horrible world stripped you from who you once were? _

-0-0-0-

"When you go to sleep tonight, take my sword." he blurted out one winter night, taking his friend's hand. The younger male blushed, and rose an eyebrow. Matthias faltered- that's not what he meant! "I, I mean this," he explained himself, giving the other the sheath of his sword "it may help you. and it isn't a weapon so you don't have any problem"

"Thank you Matthias." was the only answer, and before he realized, their faces were close, his friend's hand on his neck followed by thin lips on his.

The world stopped, and then exploded.

"Prince-!"  
>"Matthew." he corrected, still close, so close their noses touched "My name is Matthew, Matthias. Remember it. Say it." he commanded on his lips, taking hold of his neck, mauve eyes boring into his with such a force Matthias himself could not help but surrender.<br>"Matthew." he breathed, another kiss was his reward.

"You don't need to worry, as a seer I won't be able to take the throne" he reminded the other sweetly touching his lips "even if the leader of all gods is a seer himself- so when my brother takes the throne... No when I wake up... We will be together, I promise."

"Matthew..." he took hold of him, circling his arms around his... lover? partner? he wasn't sure anymore - passing their bodies closer and kissing him again. Somehow, the last kiss had opened the floodgates and now he couldn't wish for anything else but have him at his side. Was that the thing he had been missing? Maybe it was, and maybe this wasn't as wrong and bas as he thought it would be. "good night then," he wished once the kiss was over, he could still taste the sweetness on his lips "please be careful."

Matthew smiled shyly, cheeks still flushed, before turning around with his sword in his hands. He had just smiled dumbly, his fingers touching his lips but his heart was heavy with a bad premonition: somehow that whole encounter had been tinted with finality.

He should have known, but didn't. Now he couldn't even say a proper goodbye.

"the prince hasn't awaken. No matter what I do he won't wake up!" Was the panicked cry the next morning. Rumor spread fast, it didn't take much time for the sword shaft to be found and for the knights to arrive at his quarters, storming in and taking him to the king.

The royal was livid and then furious when learning about their training. Matthias was accused of Matthew's unending sleep, but instead of death his punishment was exile under the sentence that he would only be welcome once again if the prince woke up. He lost his prestige and most of his belongings. He fought hard to stay on the kingdom of course, but there were just too many. At the end he left, had he known what would happen next he would have fought harder.

But as it was, he was shunned, Matthew didn't wake up, and their (because he still considered himself part of the kingdom) kingdom went downhill: the King died a few days later and Matthew's older brother took the throne and commenced an unstable reign that attacked other kingdoms recklessly, surrounding themselves with enemies, their land dwindled, their wealth almost non existent and with a Queen pregnant with a baby of no royal blood. The new King even buried his sleeping brother in fear of him ever waking up and threatening his right to the throne.

He had burned his left hand freeing Matthew from the burning ship.

-0-0-0-

Back in the present Matthias sighs flexing his fingers and looking at the moon. It seems bigger and bigger soon, the room would be engulfed with the white light. Just the perfect time to do the final part of the spell. He jumped down from the altar, and placed a handover Matthew's head, the other over his heart and whispers the incantation on his ear.

_if you see me in the dream of eternity, can't you see I want you by my side and not far away? Matthew my prince, wake up, please._

The kingdom was lost. But his prince must have known, was this the reason he refused to come back? Too hurt from the fall and the decadency it had been degraded before everything was said and done and stones became dust under gunpowder?

_The kingdom is no more, but I am still alive an loyal. Didn't you say you would save me? What is a knight without his prince? What about me, Matthew, why don't you come to me, where I can protect you?_

Maybe it was, maybe it was not. Uncertainty lived with him since the day the prince - Matthew, his dearest Matthew- never woke up. All the company he had were the ghosts of touches and the unforgiving of his wild imagination fabricating thousands and one scenarios of what could have been.

and the pieces of a promise not yet broken.

_When I wake up, we will be together._

"You promised me that" Matthias says nuzzling the other's cheek affection mixed with desperate possession "Have I not waited enough?" he inquires painfully, but his love still sleeps.

Tonight was Hallow's eve. the second chance the universe gave every year for him to come back. and he had waited beside him, the last loyal knight to the last prince of a forgotten and crumbled kingdom, with days transforming into weeks giving way into month that became years and eroded into decades and centuries.

He would not leave. Never. not without his prince.

Matthew deserved everything, Matthew, his prince, his Matthew.

But he still wasn't waking up.

Maybe something else was to be given? He wasn't very good with the paraphernalia and threads of magic, but that mage (and now that he thinks about it, he hasn't seen the other in almost a year, understandable, his reincarnated protector had gotten pregnant after all. Maybe he should send some well wishes?) had told him his prince needed an anchor. He had thought _he_ had been good enough. Maybe he wasn't.

There was no hesitation, he bit his tongue.

_'let this be enough of a link between us' _he hopes powerfully

and so he kisses the sleeping figure, painting those white lips with the red of his blood, keeping his fervent actions at bay but not his thoughts. the full moon of Hallow's eve shining directly upon them.

The grandfather clock strikes twelve.

For a moment, Matthias sees the lights turn red and then blue, feels the air around him coil and blow through them turning off the candles. His heart leaps in joy and flutters with hope.

But nothing happens.

No heartbeat starts.

_'my love was not enough' _He thinks bitterly. He knows there is a knife in one of the drawers. Maybe he should use it? he thinks desperately, the option of killing him and then himself and finding each other in the after life has never sounded so appealing. He stands up, crazed and feverish but a light sneeze stops him dead on his tracks. Is he imagining things?

But he is not.

Eyes open and blink before long translucent eyelashes part and give way to Mauve irises that shine with recognition. -and was that exasperation? - _'That little brat!' _

Matthew tries to talk, but his throat was dry, so he raises a hand instead. It was instantly taken between two others. Broad, calloused, warm.

_My prince. My Matthew. _

The awaken seer smiles invitingly, and the knight waits no more.

Tonight was theirs. Hallows eve was theirs, and forever.

"Welcome to the world of the livings, love" 

… and that's it. :3 Thank you very much for reading.

I'm sorry for the lateness , it seems my wonderful beta is enjoying her first days of freedom, so this is the un-betaed version. Thank you very much for you hard work again :3

Hope you liked it. Happy (belated) Halloween.

Questions? Reviews? :3


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